This goal was more than just an overtime winner for Senators centre Mike Fisher and his teammates.

Fisher's first goal of the year was a popular one all around, giving the Senators a 2-1 win over the Capitals and sending a long stream of teammates from the bench to mob him near the Washington net.

Fisher picked up his first point of the season when he set up Dany Heatley's second-period goal.

"They're pretty excited for Fish. He's a guy who cares and works hard for his teammates every day," said Senators coach Craig Hartsburg after Fisher one-timed home a pass from captain Daniel Alfredsson with just 40 seconds left in overtime.

"People say he goes on streaks. Maybe he can get on a positive one now. That would be a big boost for us."

Fisher getting his first for the winner is a nice story, but there were lots of other positive developments for the Senators, who picked up their second win of the season at Scotiabank Place.

Goaltender Alex Auld, making his sixth straight start, was solid in net again, making a couple of big saves on Caps' leading scorer Alexander Semin, one with eight minutes to go in the third and another early in overtime.

The Senators looked more composed and under control in their own end and are playing with more poise. The Fisher line did a great job shutting down Caps star Alex Ovechkin, back in the lineup after missing a couple of games to return to Russia to visit his ailing grandfather.

"It's just one goal," said Fisher, preferring to look at the team's performance. "It feels like we're starting to come around as a team. It's exciting. I thought everyone did a pretty good job tonight."

The biggest development has been the vast improvement by the Senators in their own end. They had one breakdown that led to the Caps' only goal, by Thomas Fleischmann early in the second, but looked in control of things for the most part.

"It may be boring at times," said Auld, "but we're getting results now. The guys are blocking shots and letting me see the puck. They're taking away the second chances."

Fisher's goal was a beauty, taking a pass from Alfredsson in the slot and ripping a one-timer over the right shoulder of Caps goalie Brent Johnson.

"I was upset because I could see it happening before (Alfredsson) made the pass. It was a nice pass and really great one-timer, but I could see it coming," said Johnson.

Fisher's assist was a beauty, too. Heatley jumped out of the box when his tripping penalty expired and Fisher threaded about a 75-foot pass from deep in the Ottawa zone through middle ice and onto Heatley's stick at the Washington blue line. Heatley broke in and deked Johnson with Heatley winding up draped over the crossbar.

But the Ottawa lead only lasted a little over two minutes as the Caps wound up with a mismatch in the Senators zone. The Senators failed to clear the puck and that wound up in a 2-on-1 situation down low. When Ottawa defenceman Christoph Schubert stepped up to challenge Semin, the NHL's second-leading scorer found winger Thomas Fleishmann just behind Schubert. He took the puck and cut across the goalmouth, lifting a shot by Auld at 3:26.